I have some flat-leaf parsley which is now infected by tiny white bugs, smaller than a pinhead. They congregate at the ends of the leaves and leave tiny white blemishes on the leaf, presumably when they eat.

I've Googled around a bit and the only thing I have found so far is parsleyworm, but I'm not totally convinced that that is what I've got as they look nothing like each other and parsleyworm seems to be an American problem.

So, does any horticultural or culinary enthusiast have any ideas as to what the insects/mites or whatever might be, and how I can get rid of them without poisoning myself at a later date when I eat the stuff?

Thanks in eager anticipation!

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

Make up a solution of water and washing up l1quid and spray the little 8u99ers or you can buy bug spray that is safe to use on fruit and veg. If there are a lot and your plant is in a pot you could try what I did when my chillies got greenfly.

In a bucket make up a solution of water and washing up liquid. Put the w-u liquid in after filling the bucket or you'll just end up with foam. Get a bag big enough to take the pot and put the pot in it. Secure tightly around the base of the plant then gently, and repeatedly, dunk the wole plant in and out of the water. This action and the liquid should be enough to remove the little blighters.

Presumably whitefly. Is the parsley indoors? Had a lot in the greenhouse this year. Can get biological controls but they are expensive. Any common insecticide is OK but if its just one plant, wash the leaves under the cold water tap and replace top 1cm of compost. I have just put 110 parsley plants in the garden which equates to a lot of sauce!!

Wee on them!
The ammoniacal liquor kills them but is well tolerated by the parley.
It not gets rid of the problem but makes make you feel a lot better; downright victorious.........until you come to eat the parley that is!

I've got a lot of flat leaf parsley growing outside but fortunately haven't been troubled by any attack of nasty creatures. Have already made 3 harvests which are now safely tucked up in freezer ready for use in winter.

It was something we bought, in a hanging herb basket, when at an event starring cleggy the Rochdale Shark in Tewkesbury a couple of years ago and Her Ladyship (RiP) and I had agreed to broaden our horticultural repertoire this year.

I decided to continue with this plan and have invested in a herb planter and an assortment of bizarre sounding and odd looking herbs, partly in an endeavour to "carry on as normal" and partly because I realised that I'd have to learn basic cooking skills at some time in the future.

Tabbouleh: Prepare a cup of burghul (cracket wheat) by soaking in hot water for 30 minutes and squeezing dry. Now season with 3 tbs olive oil, juice of a lemon/lime, salt and pepper to taste. Leave for a couple of hours if possible.
Meanwhile finely chop a large bunch of parsley, a large bunch of mint. Add this to the burghul which should now be predominantly green in colour. If it's white there isn't enough herbs. Finally add chopped spring onions, tomatos, peppers (preferably roasted) as you like. Check seasoning and add more if desired - usually the citrus component.

Always serve with chargrilled meat or fish.

Cooking for yourself - invest in an electric table top grill like the "Kansas" - you can get them from the Lowery shops. You can set the table and cook whilst seated (inside or outside), very easy to clean afterwards, and healthy. Much more efficient than using a cooker or charcoal grill for one person.

I'm having the same trouble. I tried immersing the plant in water for 4 hours, that didn't work. I've tried the fairy solution and that hasn't worked. I've also tried some spray from the garden certre -that worked for a while, but they are back now.

I think that the only thing I have left to try is to spray with garden centre stuff after washing and after removing the top inch of soil. Fingers crossed this will do the trick.

I've now consulted the world's leading authority on "little white bugs eating iBozz's flat leaf parsley" - well, the local garden centre anyway - and they opine that Angel's soapy solution would work, but over a fair time and only after a goodish number of applications.

This accords with my own experience for, after I'd sprayed them, they could be observed scrubbing their little backs, playing with their rubber ducks and singing "Bat out of hell" with gusto.

The officially approved method is to spray them with a systemic bug killer, for they were identified as aphids. However, using such a solution would result in iBozz lying on his back with his legs in the air - dead, as the systemic killer enters the plant and makes it inedible for quite some time.

So, the recommended solution to all others blighted by this pestilence, is to use a contact bug killer (in my case, I bought Bug Clear Ultra for fruit and veg) which leaves the plant edible. The container says "Spray today - eat tomorrow" but the horticultural employee says leave for about a fortnight.

So now you know how to fight these invaders - let battle commence.

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

I am wondering if the answer - if only to help not getting them - is to interplant with say onions. There was a letter in the Telegraph today about carrot fly and using this method; it reminded me that my late ex-father in-law used to do that for certain vegetables etc.

It's a tad difficult to say, Viks, but there certainly seem to be less of them since spraying although, to be fair, there seems to be an awful lot more parsley. My sojourn at an MS Conference in Douglas these past few days seems to have been a signal for a growth spurt in the herb department.

Another complicating factor is deciding whether those that are left have died in their sleep yet failed to fall off their perch as required or whether they are in training to become Sale scrum halves and are just practising to move so slowly whilst digging a ball out of a general mêlée that all signs of life are undetectable.

I shall engage in battle again today and report back anon.

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

Your thread provoked me to go look at what we'd sprayed on the plants. Sure enough, DO NOT SPRAY ON EDIBLE PLANTS in caps put incredibly small letters on the back with a load of misleading marketing on the front.

So, out with the old (parsley) in with the new (parsley)

Think I'll put the chilli plants near the parsley and chives as the chilli plants are remarkably bug free!!!

Well two sprayings of the bug killer seem to have worked, Viks, as when I harvested a bagful for Mrs T yesterday there were none in evidence. Mind you, she hasn't posted yet today so maybe she's in A&E being stomach pumped.

But I now find that the local snail population are selling tickets and forming an orderly queue to get at my sweet basil which, incidentally Mrs T, is alongside the flat leaf parsley. They are ignoring my offering of slug pellets, instead making the tricky overhang ascent to my herbs instead.

What can I do?

Slug tape seems like a solution. The example here only lasts one season but it also has "teeth" across which snails (apparentlyu) won't go even if they brave the copper. Other types, such as here, would appear to last for many seaons but have no teeth.

There seem to be a lot of this type of barrier so I guess they must work, but does anyone have any experience of them, or any other way to stop slugs climbing the pot?

I have some 30 amp copper earth wire. so would a loop of that achieve the same thing - or would it not be wide enough to cause them to give up the attempt?

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

The slimy ones have so far decimated my carrots, leeks and peas as well as other flowering plants and I lost it last week and went round the garden and picked them up, put them in a tray and put them on the bird table.

For pea crop mark II I made a ring of eggshells around them and this seems to have worked so far. I must admit I hadn't heard of slug tape and will look out for it. I won't use pellets as they kill birds and pets, and have still to ask Andy the Pub Landlord for some drip tray beer to set some beer traps. I was also thinking of using copper bands too. I need to think of something that will surround a five foot square bed or sections of.

Right, off on another slug/snail hunt - they'll be out after the rain. Little feckers.

Have a look here, Angel. There's some stuff called Slug Lady and Out Slugs that is alleged to protect larger areas.

Incidentally, I only need around 4'6" of tape so a roll at the sizes commonly quoted on t'interwebbything are far too long. If I find some, and do have to buy too much, then I'm sure we could come to an arrangement.

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

We have a large bucket of salted water and if I have time in the morning, I go round with a bowl and collect all the slugs and snails I see and deposit them in said bucket. They don't try to get out!!!! Eventually we pour the contents onto a piece of waste ground to see if the birds like pickled slug

I'm considering buying some lengths of gutter and gutter corners, making them into a sort of 'moat' around the veg bed, putting the copper tape along one edge then filling them - with Nature's help - with water. This will be supplemented with salt and broken egg shells. We'll then see if the little blighters can pole vault.

That sounds a good idea Angel, but what are you going to do with the critters that have actually had the nerve to be born in your soil. You think you've cleared the patch and plant your plants only to see teeny weany slugs and snails sitting pretty amongst the leaves munching away to their heart's content.

Two further articles, Healing herbs and Two recipes for you to try (Barbecued Greek herb-crusted butterflied leg of lamb with chopped greek salad & Barbecued stuffed trout with preserved lemons, bay, thyme and rosemary) appear not to be on-line.

However, I shall [try to remember to] have a copy of the MEN at the SSSC AGM tonight so by all means copy them down during the boring bits - they'll be plenty of time!

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

Eating herbs must be beneficial, helping make one super-fit. Just look at the accomplishments of Herb Elliott. Had he been called, say, Peter, he would have been a good athlete, but not a world beater.

I was at the Hampton Court flower show on Sat with my ma who's a keen gardener and currently blighted by snails. I can't remember the plant (it's not edible) but it attracts them like nobody's business. So, she asked the whatsit plant specialist..................

Seems that the slug pellets actually attract the slugs, so whilst they are good at killing them, you're actually bringing slugs in from farther afield if you put down too many of them (ie if your garden is beginning to resemble a blue mosaic like my ma's!). Just a few pellets is best. His best tip was to take an empty glass jar eg sharwoods and put some pellets in the bottom of it. Now lay it on its side next to the stem of the plant. The rain doesn't wash it away and the slugs go in there, eat them and then die in there, so are remarkably easy to remove from your garden.

I've not tried it yet, but he did have remarkable lush whatsit plants and got a gold star, so he must be doing something right!

I may have used to this gardening lark but I do still hate these little blighters. I must admit the ale in a tub (yoghurt of otherwise) did seem to work the one time I tried it. I suppose that they get too drunk to climb out and die happy!?

I'm not keen on parmesan (just why do people want to make their food smell of stale vomit?) so I reckon a good old slice of cheap Tesco rat-trap will do just fine, green and furry from the fridge and maturing nicely since before Christmas.

It would help if these Effin Safety Loonies insisted on adding years to best before dates on fresh food and dairy products. How is the discerning gourmet on The Clapham Omnibus to know which year they mean?

But there you go again! Medium heat? What's medium for a naked Gentleman who inadvertently sits on a bathroom radiator may not be the same as what's medium for a re-entering space shuttle.

Grill? If I put it on now, will it be ready when I get back from watching Sale thrash Munster next January? Or can I have it for supper tonight if I don't go to bed for another minute and a half?

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

For the past week I have set several beer traps around the garden with great success. The one in the front garden had 35 large, 2-5" slugs in it along with around 20 smaller ones - and that was just one night! Every single trap had loads in, I reckon over the week around 400+ met a beery end.

With this in mind along with the old adage 'prevention is better than cure' I have purchased some copper tape, as used by celebrity gardening guru iBozz, a deluxe slug trap and...

...a three part course of nematodes in the form of Nemaslug

Quote:

Green GardenerNemaslug® contains the naturally occurring parasitic nematode of slugs - Phasmarhabditis Hermaphrodita. Each pack of Nemaslug® contains millions of these microscopic nematodes that kill slugs both above & below ground. Once the nematodes have been applied to the soil, they search out slugs and will enter the slug through the mantle - the saddle like structure on its back. Once inside, the nematode releases a bacterium which it feeds on and as that bacterium multiplies, the slug dies. The nematodes multiply inside the slug and within 3-5 days the slug stops feeding and will burrow underground to die. As the slug decomposes in the soil, the nematodes are released back into the soil to search out more slug and the whole process starts again.

I have applied the first pack today and will report back on it's effectiveness. Horrible snot creatures.

"hungry slimy creatures are not good for your plants. but there is a simple solution. Take a container of sale into the garden and put a ring of salt around your plants. Salt is lethal to soft-bodied animals and they shouldn' attempt to breach the salt 'defences'.

Have tried in directly by sprinking direct on the little @#$%& themselves! So I assume it works.

Sharken (Mike) says the other way is to use machine gun (brings to mind Jasper Carrot and his Mole - 12 bore!)

Ahh, hadn't thought of that. Planted some plants this afternon and srinkled librally with slugh pellets and put in some ale pots so hopefully they will survive a couple of days before completely being desimated(?) by the little blighters. Couldn't knowingly kneel on one, I think like you I would feel/be sick afterwards!

Either worked for me. The combination of beer pots with an enthusiastic swimming coach - Col with a stick - seems to be working very well indeed.

If you ask your local licensee for their drip tray contents just get bitter only, no cider or lager. Or buy a big bottle or a few cans of cheapo bitter from your local shopping establishment.

I will report back as to the success of the nematodes. Hopefully the prescribed and regular application of same will enable me to grow carrots, lettuce and spring onions next year. Each was decimated on three sowings and I ended up with just bare earth and an overwhelming and consuming desire to seek out and destroy the snot monsters completely.

Anyone on here a keen chilli grower? We've got some dwarf ones on the windowsill but mate forgot to give them a drink whilst we were away on holiday - boo hiss. A few look ok but the others look decidedly worse for wear. T'other half convinced that they are merely distressed and that this will increase the heat of the chillis and they will be fine. Does anyone know if he's talking manure or should I persevere?

Grew chillis earlier in the year, though outdoors (my weather conditions are a bit different to yours). The best tasting, and usually hottest fruits were the worst looking ones, usually curly and wrinkly. Mine too suffered periods of neglect, killed the tomatoes, but chillis were fine.

Unhappiness, where's when I was young
And we didn't give a damn
'Cause we were raised
To see life as a fun and take it if we can

Our chillie plants all got eaten by the slugs while in the greenhouse, but the vines are doing fine and will bring a load of grapes to Clermont. It was frosty and windy here in April:May so all the blosssom blew off the trees so no plums, greengages or cherries this year. But the nut harvest is great. Walnuts, almonds and sweet chestnuts all in the garden. The quinces are nearly ready and the blackberries have been harvested and tamed (pruned heavily so next year we should get loads) The leeks are doing well,planting carrots, peas, winter lettuce, cabbage and spinach at the moment.

I've just been to Sainsbury's (Ashton) and they had some anti-bug (greenfly/aphid etc) spikes reduced down to about 80p a pack. They also had some organic liquid plant food reduced to 99p a bottle. Bargain!!

On the slug front I've found coffee grounds (as advised by the funny voiced gel on Gardeners World) have worked wonders. Nothing to do with keeping 'em off my plants but stopping the little B*$$"rs sneaking under my back door and raiding the cat food. Oh the joys of living in the country

So as not to hijack RtB's thread on horticulture generally, I'll resurrect this golden oldie.

After a lull of a couple of years, mice have returned to holiday at iBozz Towers. In previous years, I've fed them on those little blue wheat seeds and they have thrived and tucked in with enthusiasm. They even seemed to return for second helpings and they seemed immune to the poiuon.

Then, after a few years of residence they disappeared - until now.

I have in mind to try those "plug in" devices which claim to drive mice and other undesirables away by doing something through the mains cables running round the house and garage.

Some others claim to be "line of sight" only and are thus no doubt sonic.

Now, do either of these types of devices work? And which is better? The former makes more sense if you don't know where the guests live so, would they be a sound investment - and how many would I need to cover an average semi with garage?

And no, I don't want a cat.

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

Our Tommi was running round the garden with one in his mouth last night. Have to make sure he has dispatched them before he is allowed in kitchen!! We could send him round on annual leave?? He likes Whiskas pouches - especially the fish ones???? Can't have the noise thing as it would upset the rabbits. Have Foxwatch system to help protect the chickens which is similar and does seem to work.

As Davenport suggests you need a "professional @#$%& control operative."
Not a part-time temp. on a jolly mind, mind , but a full-time dedicated member of your staff.
Forget the expense; they are a fully tax-deductible expense, and are also fully capable of turning a mere house into a home.
Guaranteed to ensure your local veterinary surgeon doesn't become a redundancy statistic!

I may have a black and white one available, called Jess, free to a good home after a change in vehicle, just give me a call!

A Polish frizle bantam or two are the best thing in my experience for wily foxes.
I would post a picture but it might frighten any children!

I got rid of our mice a few years back with a humane trap. When it caught one, I took it to a hedgerow by the tram line a couple of streets away and released it. It took a few days to get them all, but they've not returned. Best of all, it's cheap and only needs one small blob* of peanut butter per mouse.

* knowing iBozz's difficulties with amounts, I'd just like to clarify that a blob is a bit more than a smidgen, but less than a dollop.

With reference to the banning of the 'r' word, I can only conclude that the whole world has gone mad. When one gets down to the nitty gritty all sorts of innocent words can be banned because they are rude or offensive to someone, while others escape the censor police. It would be interesting to compile a list to see which words will pass muster. If I can snatch a minute or two I might do that sometime.

We have had mice in the loft above the kitchen and rats in the shed. I know there were rats in the shed because we found two dead carcasses when we cleaned it out last Monday.

I had a conversation the other evening about watering plants. Janet said that she fills up large plastic pop bottles with water and then freezes them. During warm periods of weather she takes them outside, takes the lid off and then sticks them neck-down in the ground so as the ice melts it waters the plants. Brilliant!

I don't have loads of space in my freezer for this but I do have plenty of big water bottles so instead of putting them out for recycling I've decided to recycle them myself (I don't drink bottled water myself, I drink tap water). I've cut the bottom off and then stuck them neck-down in the soil beside water hungry plants so I can fill them up and the water will run to the roots of them rather than away from the soil around the plant. Magic!

I've also heard that putting half-filled clear water bottles on the ground scares away cats - they see the distorted image of themselves and run away.

It sounds an absolutely spiffing wheeze.

The only problem is that the local moggies haven't heard that they should be scared so I'm reduced to putting down some green jelly like pellets which do work, until it rains or they wear off. But they don't half stink and they make sitting out tanning the exquisite iBozz physique a bit of an olfactory ordeal.

I'm also told that squirting them with water laced with washing up liquid works, but the little so-and-sos are too quick even for my highly tuned and athletic self.

Short of shooting the damned things sweet little pussykins, how else can I discourage them?

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

Too much water. Like whiskey, a cactus should be kept well away from water. The poor thing is probably beyond recovery now.

Well, I staked the aformentioned drooping cactus upright with those green cane things and it remains upright - but still staked. I daren't take them out incase it all hurtles southwards.

But it now has a ring of reddish purple flowers around 2/3 or it's circumference about three inches from the top.

I'm puzzled as to why only one ring and why only 2/3 the way round?

Does this indicate that the thing has now recovered?

And anyway, fully TT though I am, I always understood that water should be added to whisky because it then allows the alcohol to be absorbed into the bloodstream quicker - thus making the imbiber make an embarrassing fool of themselves much earlier in the day. Is that not so?

No matter what you say, or how you say it, someone somewhere will deliberately go out of their way to be offended.

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